Battery and method of attaching same to a garment

• US 10,461,306 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2006
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Marmaropoulos, George, Vu, Giang
• Primary Examiner(s): Yanchuk, Stephen J
• Application Number:
  US11/994,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20080220293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,879 Days
• Field of Search: 429121, 429162
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 1/002 adapted to accommodate electronic equipment patients' garments for medical monitoring A41D13/1281; luminous ornaments A41D27/085
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/50 Current conducting connections for cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/51 Connection only in series
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/512 Connection only in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/557 Plate-shaped terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/597 Protection against reversal of polarity
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 6/46 of flat cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6205 Two-part coupling devices held in engagement by a magnet
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 24/32 having magnetic fastener

Abstract

A thin battery (100) has a central portion (110) and two end portions (120). One of the two end portions includes a positive voltage connection (121) exposed on both the top and bottom surfaces of the battery. The other one of the two end portions includes a negative voltage connection (122) exposed on both the top and bottom surfaces of the battery. Each of the end portions (120) includes a magnetic element having a north magnetic pole on one of the top or bottom surface of the battery and a south magnetic pole on the other one of the top or bottom surface of the battery. Multiple batteries may be connected to each other through magnetic attraction. The battery may be securely attached and electrically connected to a garment (1000) using positive and negative conductive surfaces/contacts (1010, 1020) on a fiber layer of the garment and a corresponding magnetic element (1050) beneath the conductive surfaces/contacts that attracts and secures the battery in place.

Claims

1. A battery comprising:

a source of voltage;

at least one positive voltage connection on the source of voltage;

at least one negative voltage connection on the source of voltage;

a first magnetic element that is collocated with the at least one positive voltage connection; and

a second magnetic element that is collocated with the at least one negative voltage connection;

wherein the battery comprises a first surface and a second surface that is opposite the first surface;

wherein the at least one positive voltage connection comprises a first positive voltage connection on the first surface and a second positive voltage connection on the second surface;

wherein the at least one negative voltage connection comprises a first negative voltage connection on the first surface and a second negative voltage connection on the second surface; and

wherein the first and second magnetic elements have an “

N”

pole on the first surface and an “

S”

pole on the second surface.

2. The battery of claim 1, further comprising at least one removable non-conductive adhesive strip adhered to at least one of the at least one positive voltage connection and the at least one negative voltage connection.

3. The battery of claim 1, wherein the at least one positive voltage connection is situated at a first extremity of the battery, and the at least one negative voltage connection is situated at a second extremity of the battery, opposite the first extremity.

4. The battery of claim 1, wherein the battery has a length, a width, and a thickness, and wherein the length and width are many times the thickness of the battery.

5. The battery of claim 4, wherein the battery has flexibility at least along the length of the battery.

6. The battery of claim 1, wherein the first and second magnetic elements comprise magnetic material embedded in the battery.

7. A modular battery system comprising a plurality of battery elements,

wherein each battery element comprises:

a source of voltage;

at least one positive voltage connection to the source of voltage;

at least one negative voltage connection to the source of voltage;

a first magnetic element that is collocated with the at least one positive voltage connection; and

a second magnetic element that is collocated with the at least one negative voltage connection;

wherein each battery element comprises a first surface and a second surface that is opposite the first surface;

wherein the at least one positive voltage connection of each battery element comprises a first positive voltage connection on the first surface and a second positive voltage connection on the second surface;

wherein the at least one negative voltage connection of each battery element comprises a first negative voltage connection on the first surface and a second negative voltage connection on the second surface;

wherein the first and second magnetic elements of each battery element have an “

N”

pole on the first surface and an “

S”

pole on the second surface; and

wherein the first and second magnetic elements of each battery element provide direct physical and electrical coupling of the battery element to an immediately adjacent battery element of the plurality of battery elements.

8. The system of claim 7,

wherein each of the bodies of the battery elements include a length, a width, and a thickness,

wherein the length and width are many times the thickness of the battery, and

wherein the plurality of battery elements comprises a stack of the battery elements in a direction of the thickness.

9. The system of claim 8,

wherein a first orientation of each battery element with respect to its immediately adjacent battery element forms a series connection, and

wherein a second orientation of each battery element with respect to its immediately adjacent battery element forms a parallel connection.

10. The system of claim 7,

wherein a first orientation of each battery element with respect to its immediately adjacent battery element forms a series connection, and

wherein a second orientation of each battery element with respect to its immediately adjacent battery element forms a parallel connection.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein each battery element is in the form of a thin strip of constant thickness.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second magnetic elements comprises dispersed magnetic particles.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second magnetic elements comprises a discrete magnet.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein each battery element includes a removable insulative adhesive covering a first surface of the negative voltage connection and a removable insulative adhesive covering an opposite surface of the positive voltage connection.